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Harbaugh Says Lifetime Contract Rumors Are “Fake News”

ANN ARBOR, MI - SEPTEMBER 16: Michigan Wolverines head football coach Jim Harbaugh watches the pregame warm ups prior to the start of the game against the Air Force Falcons at Michigan Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.(Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

“No,” said Jim Harbaugh, he is not in talks with Michigan to sign a lifetime contract.

Nor did such reports become a distraction ahead of Saturday’s loss to Ohio State.

“Fake news,” Harbaugh said. “That was irrelevant.”

Earlier this week, college football analyst and former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn told Fox Sports Radio that, according to a source, Michigan is interested in signing Harbaugh to contract that would keep him in Ann Arbor forever.

“I talked to someone who’s kind of an insider within that program and we had a long, drawn-out conversation. What he told me was, they’re working on a lifetime contract. I swear to you, I’m not trying to throw a wrench into (Harbaugh returning to the NFL). That was his words,” said Quinn.

Quinn, incredulous, said he pressed his source for more info, such as what a lifetime contract would even look like.

“He couldn’t give me particulars, but he said that’s one of the things that they’re talking about. That’s how confident, that’s how good they feel about Jim Harbaugh and how glad they are to have him there. So, maybe it’s something that he wants,” Quinn said.

False, said Harbaugh.

The 53-year-old coach, who’s 28-10 over three seasons at Michigan, is under contract through 2021. His base salary this year is about $7 million.